Healing
During Jesus’ three and a half years of ministry, He healed many sick people (Matthew 15:30). After His ascension, He promised His disciples that those who believed would be able to ” ‘place their hands on [the] sick’ ” and people would get well (Mark 16:18, NIV). Today, thousands flock to healing services all over the world, and every week, tens of thousands of viewers worldwide watch television preachers conduct healing services. Generally, those seeking healing can be seen standing in line, waiting for the evangelist to touch them. When he does, they fall back like tenpins, and “catchers” behind them lay them out on the floor like fence posts. With its “faith formula” for health, wealth, and prosperity, the Faith Movement has taken many Christian churches by storm.GP 33.5
Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn, TV preachers well-known on many continents, are prominent representatives of the Faith Movement, which teaches that the human mind and the tongue contain supernatural power. Psalm 33:9 says, “He spoke, and it was done; / He commanded, and it stood fast.” Taking this principle, the Faith Movement teaches that when people speak, expressing their faith in divine laws, their positive thoughts and positive verbal expressions generate a “divine force” that will heal, produce wealth, and bring success.GP 34.1
Most of these so-called healings cannot be verified. Some years ago, W. A. Nolan, a medical doctor, tested the claims of faith healers and then wrote a book called Healing: A Doctor in Search of a Miracle. Nolan wrote,GP 34.2
Search the literature, as I have, and you will find no documented cures by healers of gallstones, heart disease, cancer or any other serious organic disease. Certainly, you’ll find patients temporarily relieved of their upset stomachs, their chest pains, their breathing problems; and you will find healers, and believers, who will interpret this interruption of symptoms as evidence that the disease is cured.GP 34.3
But when you track the patient down and find out what happened later, you always find the “cure” to have been purely symptomatic and transient. The underlying disease remains. GP 34.4
While this may be true in many cases, it cannot be denied that some genuine healings may take place. The question is, From which power does the healing come? Ellen White predicted, “Wonderful scenes, with which Satan will be closely connected, will soon take place. God’s Word declares that Satan will work miracles. He will make people sick, and then will suddenly remove from them his satanic power. They will then be regarded as healed. These works of apparent healing will bring Seventh-day Adventists to the test” (2SM 53).GP 34.5
This statement doesn’t mean that every healing must be from Satan, but Christians must be aware of possible counterfeit miracles. Nevertheless, genuine miracles in response to sincere prayers may take place every day.GP 34.6